ISAF helicopter in emergency landing after attack

24th December 2011, 0 comments

A British military helicopter was forced into an emergency landing after coming under attack in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence in London said Saturday.

The helicopter made the "forced landing" on Friday afternoon in the volatile Helmand province but there were no casualties, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force confirmed in a statement.

"An ISAF helicopter made a forced landing near an Afghan National Security Forces checkpoint in Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province," the statement said. "The helicopter was assessed to have received small arms fire."

A MoD spokesman in London told AFP that the helicopter "was recovered successfully and there were no injuries", but declined to offer any more details.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility and the Taliban, who are leading a 10-year insurgency against NATO and Afghan government forces, were not reachable for comment.

On August 6 insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter in Wardak province, southwest of the capital Kabul, claiming 38 lives, including 30 US troops.